Post subject: Re: Space to post things that do not go with any other topic

Posted: Sat Jan 19, 2013 11:58 pm

Inflexitarian

Joined: Sun Jun 03, 2012 10:17 amPosts: 759Location: Toronto

Is marmite very similar to vegemite? An Australian friend gave me some vegemite to try recently. I slathered it on a piece of bread; everyone was shocked and was convinced it was way too much and that I would die, but it was actually delicious.

edit: Oh yeah, also, new cat hasn't peed anywhere outside the box for two days! I think adding a second box and moving the food dishes further away from litter did the trick.

Post subject: Re: Space to post things that do not go with any other topic

Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 10:09 am

Moving To Sheepshead Bay

Joined: Wed Oct 20, 2010 7:08 pmPosts: 5996Location: WV

As a person who is very, very careful about wasting electricity, I am dumbfounded as to why I received a bill for my new apartment for just 13 days of use that is $100. Here is why I am shocked:

-3rd floor apartment, so stealing downstairs neighbors' heat to some extent-1 bedroom apartment, so it's not, like, huge or anything-I'm home maybe 2 awake hours a day, and I only turn lights on at night, or when I'm showering. I make sure that only one light is on at a time.-No dishwasher, microwave, tv, dryer-All new double pane windows, and I don't feel any drafts around them.-Central heat that is set to between 65 and 68 at all times, and I almost never hear it kick on.-I've cooked maybe three times in the past two weeks.

What is sucking all the power out of my place? A call to the electric company did nothing but make me cry with frustration, as they insist that I really did use it and no one is, like, stealing my power. My one culprit, according to my dad, may be the water heater. The water is paid for by the landlord, but I don't know if there are individual water heaters for each place or if there is one big one for every few apartments or what. What I have noticed is that sometimes, especially early in the morning (when no one else is awake...?) the hot water takes a very long time to come in. However, other times, it's there as soon as I turn on the tap. That makes me think that the water heater isn't just for my apartment, because it would explain why sometimes it's right there (other people have been using it, too). But if I am paying to heat the water, and it's taking forever to come in, my dad says that there could be something wrong with the water heater and that could be the problem.

But if it's not that, then what? I'm so so careful, guys! I never leave things on! I have friends who have all electric one and two bedroom apartments that have things like tv's and dryers and dishwashers who say they aren't careful at all, really, and their electric bills, for an entire month, are around $60. How on earth is mine $100 for half a month?!

Calling landlord after the weekend. But still going crazy trying to figure it out on my own.

ETA: Also! For perspective, I moved here from a two story, two bedroom house that had inefficient heating and my ex left the tv on constantly, and I cooked all the time, took long, hot showers, ran the dishwasher, did tons of laundry with a dryer that you have to run for 2 hours to get anything dry...and our bill was $175/month in the winter.

_________________But if one were to tickle Pluto, I suspect that it might very quietly laugh. - pandacookie

55k usd is like 4 cad or whatever equivalent in beavers you use on the island - joshua

Post subject: Re: Space to post things that do not go with any other topic

Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 10:14 am

Had sex with a vampire that sparkles.

Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2010 6:24 pmPosts: 5583Location: BRLA

Definitely talk to your landlord but my experience has always been that the first electricity bill includes connection fees and a deposit so it's always higher. If that we're the case they definitely should have told you when you called, though.

Post subject: Re: Space to post things that do not go with any other topic

Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 10:16 am

Impressive boner

Joined: Wed Oct 20, 2010 2:57 pmPosts: 4539Location: Nottingham.

Have you double checked your meter readings are correct? Based on your appliances you shouldn't have had a bill that high for 13 days (I spent over three years calculating bills at E.ON.). Getting clarification regarding the water heater would be useful. It could help to measure your consumption over a week - take a reading at roughly the same time of day, every day for a week so you can compare your readings and get an average. Feel free to PM me if you need any help with your results.

Post subject: Re: Space to post things that do not go with any other topic

Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 10:22 am

Moving To Sheepshead Bay

Joined: Wed Oct 20, 2010 7:08 pmPosts: 5996Location: WV

Fee, no connection fees or deposits. I was transferring from my old place, and you only have to pay those once here, thank goodness.

8ball, according to the electric company jerk (he really was an unhelpful turd), our meters are in a locked area and there is no access. They read them wirelessly, somehow. I haven't been around outside the building to look yet because I was rushing to work as soon as I got off the phone with him and wasn't home until after dark, but when I go out to pick up groceries in a bit, I will investigate. Thank you for your offer of help!

_________________But if one were to tickle Pluto, I suspect that it might very quietly laugh. - pandacookie

55k usd is like 4 cad or whatever equivalent in beavers you use on the island - joshua

Post subject: Re: Space to post things that do not go with any other topic

Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 10:37 am

Invented Vegan Meringue

Joined: Wed Aug 01, 2012 3:37 pmPosts: 4044Location: Ireland

Woah! That is steep! My electricity bills are usually about €50-60 a month and I'm not altogether careful about things. I live alone and like to make my house look "busy" by putting on lights in different rooms and even have some lamps on timers to come on and off now and then. I don't have any oil in atm for my heating so I plug in a little electric heater every so often too. Because of no proper heating and crappy weather I have to use the drier a lot too.

Post subject: Re: Space to post things that do not go with any other topic

Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 10:38 am

No-pants hermit 4 lyfe

Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2010 10:22 amPosts: 3189Location: BKLN

my electricity use increased by about 100 kWh a month when i moved across the street from my old apartment to this one, and i have never been able to figure out what's causing it. everything is the same in terms of how many lights i have on, how many hours a day the computer is on, etc. the only thing i can think of is that this refrigerator might use more electricity. it's about the same size, and i keep it turned down pretty low, but it's older. i don't know. i feel your frustration. i was so proud of my low wattage, and i wish i could figure out how to get it back.

_________________"rise from the ashes of douchebaggery like a fancy vegan phoenix" - amandabear"I'm pretty sure the moral of this story is: fork pants." - cq

Last edited by acr on Sun Jan 20, 2013 10:45 am, edited 1 time in total.

Post subject: Re: Space to post things that do not go with any other topic

Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 10:44 am

Vegan Since Before There Were Vegetables

Joined: Wed Oct 20, 2010 3:30 pmPosts: 11607

Tea wrote:

Is marmite very similar to vegemite? An Australian friend gave me some vegemite to try recently. I slathered it on a piece of bread; everyone was shocked and was convinced it was way too much and that I would die, but it was actually delicious.

The Aussies will start a mutiny (hi Josh!), but Marmite is similar to Vegemite but better. I can't quite place my finger on why, but Vegemite doesn't taste as "clean" as Marmite and it has a weird aftertaste.

Post subject: Re: Space to post things that do not go with any other topic

Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 10:47 am

Moving To Sheepshead Bay

Joined: Wed Oct 20, 2010 7:08 pmPosts: 5996Location: WV

I was just in the basement doing laundry and did some investigating behind closed doors. Found all of our meters down there, so I can at least tell the electric company my actual reading. For the record, my meter had the lowest number on it. I also found our water heaters. There are just two giant ones, so I'm assuming we share. Surely they don't split that evenly amongst our electricity bills? That can't be possible, right?

_________________But if one were to tickle Pluto, I suspect that it might very quietly laugh. - pandacookie

55k usd is like 4 cad or whatever equivalent in beavers you use on the island - joshua

Post subject: Re: Space to post things that do not go with any other topic

Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 11:03 am

Inflexitarian

Joined: Sun Jun 03, 2012 10:17 amPosts: 759Location: Toronto

Mister Shadowfax meowed so much last night. I didn't get any sleep at all :( Any advice on training a cat to be less vocal at night? I've heard that the best approach is to just not respond; responding teaches him that meowing is an effective strategy for getting attention at night, so given time he'll stop. That feels too passive though, and I'm afraid of disturbing all of my housemates (I have 4 housemates)... although that may not be a concern, because I asked this morning and they basically all just slept through it. (Apparently I am a light sleeper!)

Post subject: Re: Space to post things that do not go with any other topic

Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 11:22 am

Had sex with a vampire that sparkles.

Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2010 6:24 pmPosts: 5583Location: BRLA

allularpunk wrote:

I was just in the basement doing laundry and did some investigating behind closed doors. Found all of our meters down there, so I can at least tell the electric company my actual reading. For the record, my meter had the lowest number on it. I also found our water heaters. There are just two giant ones, so I'm assuming we share. Surely they don't split that evenly amongst our electricity bills? That can't be possible, right?

How many people live in your apartments? I don't know how giant you're talking but it seems weird to only have two for the whole place.

Post subject: Re: Space to post things that do not go with any other topic

Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 11:23 am

Moving To Sheepshead Bay

Joined: Wed Oct 20, 2010 7:08 pmPosts: 5996Location: WV

Fee wrote:

allularpunk wrote:

I was just in the basement doing laundry and did some investigating behind closed doors. Found all of our meters down there, so I can at least tell the electric company my actual reading. For the record, my meter had the lowest number on it. I also found our water heaters. There are just two giant ones, so I'm assuming we share. Surely they don't split that evenly amongst our electricity bills? That can't be possible, right?

How many people live in your apartments? I don't know how giant you're talking but it seems weird to only have two for the whole place.

There are 12 units, with 6 on each side of the building. I guess there is one for each side? There was definitely nothing else remotely resembling a water heater down there.

_________________But if one were to tickle Pluto, I suspect that it might very quietly laugh. - pandacookie

55k usd is like 4 cad or whatever equivalent in beavers you use on the island - joshua

Post subject: Re: Space to post things that do not go with any other topic

Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 11:58 am

No-pants hermit 4 lyfe

Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2010 10:22 amPosts: 3189Location: BKLN

i just cut the shiitake out of my hand washing dishes, and i didn't have a bandage big enough to cover the gash, so i had to affix a gauze pad with scotch tape. next up: self-stitching with an awl and dental floss. #HoboLivin'

_________________"rise from the ashes of douchebaggery like a fancy vegan phoenix" - amandabear"I'm pretty sure the moral of this story is: fork pants." - cq

Post subject: Re: Space to post things that do not go with any other topic

Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 1:03 pm

Making Threats to Punks Again

Joined: Wed Oct 20, 2010 3:36 pmPosts: 1126

Mars wrote:

I'm cold and melancholy... and I keep looking at FB and seeing a picture of a friend of mine having fun with a friend of his and it's making me sad because this friend of mine never initiates spending time with me. If I never initiated I think we'd never speak again. So it makes me jealous when I see him posting on FB of all the fun he has with all sorts of people. Dumb to feel jealous over a friend like this, but there we have it. Actually I think I problem with jealousy surrounding friends. I feel this way so often when I hear about friends having fun without me.

I'm so sorry you're experiencing this, Mars. I know how you feel, because I have a friend exactly like this. I've known her for 16 years and the only time she ever initiates contact anymore is when she wants a ride to the bar for her and her other friends. I try to look at it this way: if this person never initiates any sort of contact, are they really a friend? Because a friend wants to talk to you, and wants to see you.

Please remember that you are awesome and that you deserve friends who care about the friendship as much as you do. *hugs*

_________________"I will rip out your IV and other roman numerals." - pandacookie"The one thing I would not do for Aubrey Plaza is harm a baby, by the way." - strawberryrock

Post subject: Re: Space to post things that do not go with any other topic

Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 1:39 pm

Plays The Sims 2 religiously

Joined: Wed Oct 20, 2010 11:20 pmPosts: 8564Location: Portland, OR

DrakeRedcrest wrote:

I'm so sorry you're experiencing this, Mars. I know how you feel, because I have a friend exactly like this. I've known her for 16 years and the only time she ever initiates contact anymore is when she wants a ride to the bar for her and her other friends. I try to look at it this way: if this person never initiates any sort of contact, are they really a friend? Because a friend wants to talk to you, and wants to see you.

Please remember that you are awesome and that you deserve friends who care about the friendship as much as you do. *hugs*

Thanks DRC. And PPK for having to be on the recieving end for my newest big emotional spew time. I'm just trying to figure myself out, having a hard time. Its so easy for me to get people who are sexually interested in me, but it's so, so forkin hard to make friends, or progress those sexually interested people to more than a quick fleeting thing. I'd really be happy with just more friends but shiitake just always gets so forkin awkward with people for me.

Does your bill have a power source breakdown? When we lived in a place that used nuclear, our bills were super low even though it was a high cost of living area. Even if you are using the same company, in the same town, your power could be routed differently and therefore cost more.

Now we live near the nuclear plant but our power doesn't come from there so our power bills here are almost twice as much even though this is lower cost of living area.

It's strange. I would talk to your neighbors and see what they say.

_________________"This is the creepiest post ever if you don't know who Molly is." -Fee"a vegan death match sounds like something where we all end up hugging." -LisaPunk

Post subject: Re: Space to post things that do not go with any other topic

Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 2:19 pm

Sick of Cupcakes

Joined: Wed Oct 20, 2010 2:35 pmPosts: 6776Location: Norristown, PA

Mars wrote:

DrakeRedcrest wrote:

I'm so sorry you're experiencing this, Mars. I know how you feel, because I have a friend exactly like this. I've known her for 16 years and the only time she ever initiates contact anymore is when she wants a ride to the bar for her and her other friends. I try to look at it this way: if this person never initiates any sort of contact, are they really a friend? Because a friend wants to talk to you, and wants to see you.

Please remember that you are awesome and that you deserve friends who care about the friendship as much as you do. *hugs*

Thanks DRC. And PPK for having to be on the recieving end for my newest big emotional spew time. I'm just trying to figure myself out, having a hard time. Its so easy for me to get people who are sexually interested in me, but it's so, so forkin hard to make friends, or progress those sexually interested people to more than a quick fleeting thing. I'd really be happy with just more friends but shiitake just always gets so forkin awkward with people for me.

Aw Mars! I would totally hang out with you <3

_________________Man, fork the gender card, imma come at you with the whole damned gender deck. - Olives Did you ever think that, like, YOU are a sexy costume FOR a diva cup? - solipsistnationblog!FB!

Post subject: Re: Space to post things that do not go with any other topic

Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 2:24 pm

Remembers When Veganism Was Cool

Joined: Wed Oct 20, 2010 12:34 amPosts: 2454

I have a balcony door that I usually tape off with masking tape for the winter because of draft.This year I didn't do that cause I don't want to damage the paint job I did last summer.

I don't know how accurate my thermometer is, but I just saw 5 C/41 f in the shower and the kitchen is just a couple of degrees warmer. (I store my dish washing liquid in the livingroom otherwise it won't come out of the bottle)

The good thing is that this motivates me to go more often to the gym cause their shower area is warm (went 6 times in 7 days)

Never the less I'm going to buy new masking tape tomorrow and tape the balcony door to the door frame.

Post subject: Re: Space to post things that do not go with any other topic

Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 3:10 pm

Moving To Sheepshead Bay

Joined: Wed Oct 20, 2010 7:08 pmPosts: 5996Location: WV

lavawitch wrote:

Does your bill have a power source breakdown? When we lived in a place that used nuclear, our bills were super low even though it was a high cost of living area. Even if you are using the same company, in the same town, your power could be routed differently and therefore cost more.

Now we live near the nuclear plant but our power doesn't come from there so our power bills here are almost twice as much even though this is lower cost of living area.

It's strange. I would talk to your neighbors and see what they say.

It does not. I never knew that, weird!

And yes, I keep telling myself that I should talk to my neighbors, but I have EXTREME stranger anxiety, so it will probably be months before I can do more than awkwardly say hi and avert my eyes before I can muster up the courage to talk to any of the few people I have seen in the halls. I need to just do it. Stupid anxiety!

_________________But if one were to tickle Pluto, I suspect that it might very quietly laugh. - pandacookie

55k usd is like 4 cad or whatever equivalent in beavers you use on the island - joshua

Post subject: Re: Space to post things that do not go with any other topic

Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 3:44 pm

Has it on Blue Vinyl

Joined: Wed Oct 20, 2010 3:06 pmPosts: 2060Location: Windmill Central

I need motivation to finish my grade reports! I was grounded by a fever the day before they were all due and I was super behind in the first place. So, needless to say, I'm cramming. This...coupled with my verbose English teacher comments...is making for a hellish night. Oh the humanity!